Slice of Life

MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) — With her escape-artist antics now caught on video, a horse in Michigan is being dubbed the “Houdini Horse” thanks to her knack for opening stall doors.

The 9-year-old horse named Mariska somehow learned to open latches at Misty Meadow Farms near Midland in central Michigan.

The farm’s co-owner, Sandy Bonem, posted a video online of the horse opening numerous locks. It catches how Mariska lets herself out, then unlocking stalls for other horses — just not her mother’s.

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The YouTube video had more than 760,000 views.

Bonem tells the Saginaw News that Mariska, “doesn’t like to be locked in.”

Bonem says Mariska played with things in her mouth when she was young, and “she just kind of progressed.”

Crane raccoons

SEATTLE (AP) — Workers using a tower crane to build a 304-unit apartment complex in Seattle have run into a complication: two raccoons climbed 150 feet up the crane and made a home behind the crane’s cab.

KING-TV reports that the raccoons have temporarily brought the giant machine to a halt.

A crane operator spotted the new residents while ascending the tower. The general contractor, Rafn Company, called in experts who are trying to catch the critters with humane traps.

Project superintendent John Kellberg says this is a first for him.

The apartment complex in the city’s Ballard neighborhood is due to open in the summer of 2014. KING reports that neighbors say large raccoons are common in Ballard.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said once he was made aware of the state-financed contract issued to purchase ice cream from his favorite Jerusalem parlor he ordered it stopped immediately. Netanyahu called the contract “excessive and unacceptable.”

The Israel economic publication “Calcalist” published a list of items on the prime minister’s annual expense budget, including $2,700 for ice cream.

Following the publication, Israelis flocked to the “Metudela” ice cream shop near the prime minister’s residence to check out his alleged favorite flavors: pistachio and vanilla.

The prime minister’s office said the cost included hosting high-ranking officials at the official residence. Still, it offered a rare peek into the personal life of the private Netanyahu.

Newspaper shot

GETTYSBURG (AP) Police in Pennsylvania say a student’s report of a gunshot being fired was instead the sound of a newspaper hitting the sidewalk.

Gettysburg police Chief Joseph Dougherty says a Gettysburg College student had reported that someone in a white sedan fired a shot early Saturday morning. But Dougherty says police investigated and determined the sound came from a newspaper delivery driver throwing a paper from her vehicle.

After the report, the college alerted students and employees via text messages, voicemails and emails. A college spokeswoman says an all-clear message was sent around 8:30 a.m.